Non-major welcomes new executive team appointment

The Bank of Sydney has announced the appointment of Kieran McKenna as its new chief risk officer (CRO), where he will be responsible for leading and shaping Bank of Sydney’s risk-management and compliance functions.

Mr McKenna was most recently the chief risk officer at payment fintech Cuscal (a position he held for the last 10 years) and has more than 30 years’ experience working within the Australian financial sector.

Over his career, he has worked in a range of risk positions including as general manager, business risk - retail division with Commonwealth Bank, head of operational risk and compliance (retail and wealth) with the Westpac Group, as well as in a number of risk manager roles with the ASX.

He takes over the position of CRO from Stella Grilis, who had been in the role on an acting basis since August 2023 after the previous CRO, Gary English, moved into the position as chief operating officer.

​Announcing the new appointment, the chief executive officer of Bank of Sydney, Melos Sulicich, said: “I am excited to welcome Kieran to Bank of Sydney.

“Kieran’s extensive experience in risk management will bring great strength to the bank, positioning us for greater success in navigating the complexities in today’s dynamic financial environment.”

Mr McKenna added that he was “excited” to join Bank of Sydney and looked forward to “working with the team to further strengthen the risk culture and functions of the bank”.

The non-major lender has been going through a period of transformation recently, after having welcomed a number of new senior appointments in the last year.

In May 2023, the bank appointed Melos Sulicich as CEO and in October 2023, it welcomed Huw Bough as its new chief retail banking officer. Fawaz Sankari, who was Bank of Sydney’s chief banking officer, moved to head up the commercial business as chief business banking officer.

[Related: Bank of Sydney appoints new head of retail banking]